Qatar’s Khalid Abdi (left) dribbles past Hong Kong’s Cheng Kam Hing during their Group C basketball match in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta yesterday.
Doha: Qatar overcame a late surge by Hong Kong to win 90-80 in the Asian Games Group C basketball match at the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex yesterday.
Qatar, which went into the last quarter with a 73-48 lead found themsleves at the receiving end as Hong Kong made a late assault scoring 32 baskets but they fell short by ten points.
Hong Kong scored 16 baskets in the first three quarters while 27, 24, 22 to maintian a clear lead in all the three quarters. It was only inthe last quarter, Qatar were caught on the wrong foot as Hong Kong pressed the panic buttons to push Qatar on the defensive.
Khalid Abdi (19) top scored for Qatar while Mohamed Hassan Mohamed (17), Mohammed Mohd (15) and Moustafa Lashin (10) were the other significant scorers for the winners.
Chinese Tapei and Japan are the other two teams in the group, with the former begining its camapign on a wining note with a stunning 70-65 win over the team from the Land of the Rising Sun.
Chinese Taipei astoundingly came from behind after having fallen well behind in the first two quarters, thanks to Cheng Yingchung and Liu Cheng who respectively tallied 18 and 14 points.
Japan’s Tenketsu Harimoto bagged 12 points, while Takuya Hashimoto and Takuma Sato each bagged 10 points.
Chinese Taipei coach Charles Henry Parker chose Liu Cheng, Chou Pochen, Chen Yingchun, Chen Kuanchuan and Huang Jhen in the starting lineup.
Meanwhile, Japan’s starting line-up comprised Atsuya Ota, Leo Vendrame, Yuya Nagayoshi, Tsuji Naoto and Naoya Kumagae.
Ota scored the game’s first points in the first two minutes of the game. Chinese Taipei temporarily took the lead 7-6 through Hu Longmao’s fast break lay-up.
Japan rallied to beat Chinese Taipei 17-11 in the first quarter. Japan remained strong in the second quarter, leading 37-30.
Chinese Taipei made a comeback in the third quarter after Douglas Creighton scored vital points.
The two teams competed fiercely in the last quarter. The game’s high pressure prompted Ota to pass the basketball to the referee, who donned a black uniform that looked similar to Japan’s jerseys.
The game ended 71-65 in Chinese Taipei’s favor.
Japan face Qatar on Thursday, while Chinese Taipei will meet Hongkong, China next Monday.
Meanwhile, Thailand defeated Mongolia 87-86 in a Group A matchat the Bung Karno Basketball Hall in Senayan, Central Jakarta, yesterday.
Thailand’s victory was achieved in a tight match marred by five players fouling out and both teams having 10 fouls.
Even the Mongolian center, Bolortulga Purevjav, was sent off by the referee 5 minutes 57 seconds before end of the third quarter.
Besides Purevjav, two other Mongolian players – guard Bilguun Battuvshin and center Ochirbat Otgonbayar – and Thai forwards Patiphan Klahan and Arnat Phuangla were also sent off the court.
The high tensions during the game resulted in two players, Nakorn Jaisanuk and Chitchai Ananti of Thailand, sustaining injuries.
Thailand, however, managed to win the game, with 18 points through double-double and 10 rebounds from Klahan, 13 points from Ananti and 11 points from Tawathcai Suktub
On the Mongolia squad, two players got double-double, Sanchir Tungalag and Battuvshin, each with 25 points and 13 rebounds and 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Thailand, which took the lead in the first quarter with 26-14, was almost overtaken by Mongolia, which scored 29 extra points in the second quarter. However, 19 points scored by Klahan and teammates maintained a 45-43 advantage over Mongolia.
Mongolia turned things around by leading with 47-45 when Batbayar Narangerel’s two-point shot scored in the remaining 8 minutes 44 seconds of the third quarter.
Thailand responded with a nine-point series to gain a 54-47 lead in the remaining 7 minutes 2 seconds of the third quarter, which finally ended in a 68-62 lead over Mongolia.
Thailand already looked to be heading toward an easy win when halfway through the final quarter it scored 12-5 to widen the distance to 80-67, but Mongolia managed to push closer to its opponent’s score. Thailand may have gasped when Tungalag struck a layup, ending the fast break attack in the remaining 6 seconds. The tension that struck the Thai players resulted in Sorot Suthonsiri failing to score in two free throws he had at the end of the game.
However, Tungalag managed to rebound, but Munkhtuvshin Davaadorj’s three-pointer beat the buzzer, and Mongolia had to admit defeat.
In the two team’s next games, Mongolia meets defending champion South Korea on Thursday, while Thailand faces up against host country Indonesia on August 20.
